Claude Code Provider

The ai-sdk-provider-claude-code community provider allows you to access Claude models through the official Claude Code SDK/CLI. While it works with both Claude Pro/Max subscriptions and API key authentication, it's particularly useful for developers who want to use their existing Claude subscription without managing API keys.

Version Compatibility

The Claude Code provider supports both AI SDK v4 and v5-beta:

Provider Version	AI SDK Version	Status	Branch
0.x	v4	Stable	`ai-sdk-v4`
1.x-beta	v5-beta	Beta	`main`

Setup

The Claude Code provider is available in the ai-sdk-provider-claude-code module. Install the version that matches your AI SDK version:

For AI SDK v5-beta (latest)

pnpm

npm

yarn

pnpm add ai-sdk-provider-claude-code@beta ai@beta

For AI SDK v4 (stable)

pnpm

npm

yarn

pnpm add ai-sdk-provider-claude-code@^0 ai@^4

Provider Instance

You can import the default provider instance claudeCode from ai-sdk-provider-claude-code:

import { claudeCode } from 'ai-sdk-provider-claude-code';

If you need a customized setup, you can import createClaudeCode from ai-sdk-provider-claude-code and create a provider instance with your settings:

import { createClaudeCode } from 'ai-sdk-provider-claude-code';

const claudeCode = createClaudeCode({
  allowedTools: ['Read', 'Write', 'Edit'],
  disallowedTools: ['Bash'],
  // other options
});

You can use the following optional settings to customize the Claude Code provider instance:

anthropicDir string

Optional. Directory for Claude Code CLI data. Defaults to ~/.claude/claude_code.
allowedTools string[]

Optional. List of allowed tools. When specified, only these tools will be available.
disallowedTools string[]

Optional. List of disallowed tools. These tools will be blocked even if enabled in settings.
mcpServers string[]

Optional. List of MCP server names to use for this session.

Language Models

You can create models that call Claude through the Claude Code CLI using the provider instance. The first argument is the model ID:

const model = claudeCode('opus');

Claude Code supports the following models:

opus: Claude 4 Opus (most capable)
sonnet: Claude 4 Sonnet (balanced performance)

Example: Generate Text

You can use Claude Code language models to generate text with the generateText function:

import { claudeCode } from 'ai-sdk-provider-claude-code';
import { generateText } from 'ai';

// AI SDK v4
const { text } = await generateText({
  model: claudeCode('opus'),
  prompt: 'Write a vegetarian lasagna recipe for 4 people.',
});

// AI SDK v5-beta
const result = await generateText({
  model: claudeCode('opus'),
  prompt: 'Write a vegetarian lasagna recipe for 4 people.',
});
const text = await result.text;

Claude Code language models can also be used in the streamText, generateObject, and streamObject functions (see AI SDK Core for more information).

The response format differs between AI SDK v4 and v5-beta. In v4, text is accessed directly via result.text. In v5-beta, it's accessed as a promise via await result.text. Make sure to use the appropriate format for your AI SDK version.

Model Capabilities

Model	Image Input	Object Generation	Tool Usage	Tool Streaming
`opus`
`sonnet`

The ❌ for "Tool Usage" and "Tool Streaming" refers specifically to the AI SDK's standardized tool interface, which allows defining custom functions with schemas that models can call. The Claude Code provider uses a different architecture where Claude's built-in tools (Bash, Edit, Read, Write, etc.) and MCP servers are managed directly by the Claude Code CLI. While you cannot define custom tools using the AI SDK's conventions, Claude can still effectively use its comprehensive set of built-in tools to perform tasks like file manipulation, web fetching, and command execution.

Authentication

The Claude Code provider uses your existing Claude Pro or Max subscription through the Claude Code CLI. You need to authenticate once using:

claude login

This will open a browser window for authentication. Once authenticated, the provider will use your subscription automatically.

Built-in Tools

One of the unique features of the Claude Code provider is access to Claude's built-in tools:

Bash: Execute shell commands
Edit: Edit files with precise replacements
Read: Read file contents
Write: Write new files
LS: List directory contents
Grep: Search file contents
WebFetch: Fetch and analyze web content
And more...

You can control which tools are available per session using the allowedTools and disallowedTools options.

Extended Thinking

The Claude Code provider supports Claude Opus 4's extended thinking capabilities with proper timeout management. When using extended thinking, make sure to provide an appropriate AbortSignal with a timeout of up to 10 minutes:

const controller = new AbortController();
const timeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 10 * 60 * 1000); // 10 minutes

try {
  const { text } = await generateText({
    model: claudeCode('opus'),
    prompt: 'Solve this complex problem...',
    abortSignal: controller.signal,
  });
} finally {
  clearTimeout(timeout);
}

Requirements

Node.js 18 or higher
Claude Code CLI installed (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code)
Claude Code authenticated with Pro or Max subscription, or API key.